We can Grow up Together
by leviathanscales
Summary: Yuffie grew up a lot whilst travelling with AVALANCHE. Over time she made many friends she would never forget. But there was always someone who helped more than anyone, and more than anyone else ever could. Yuffie/Aeris. Shoujo-ai. Ongoing.


I've always thought this would be a nice pairing, so I thought I'd give it a go. Please rate and review, tell me what you think! I'm not sure how long this will go, I guess it depends on how well it's received.

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Yuffie couldn't remember ever feeling so awkward.

It was only eleven at night, and she was actually feeling like a bad, bad girl for being up so late. She'd actually absent-mindedly started sneaking around, as if she wasn't _allowed_! It was totally unfair. Barret's 'kindly father-figure' raise of the eyebrows didn't help matters, and she found herself sticking out her tongue at his back as he went away to stoke the fire.

She was completely, even painfully, aware that she was the youngest of the group. Aeris, Tifa and Cloud were all in their twenties, and Barret was pretty old... what was he, forty or something? It would probably be impolite to ask. See, she was even thinking about how socially accepted things were! Wasn't that a sign of maturity? She'd never done that at home, she'd just said what she thought and didn't worry about the consequences. _I bet they don't even notice_, Yuffie thought moodily, kicking away a rock in her path as she stomped off in another huff.

As she hadn't gone with Cloud and Red XIII into the cave of the Gi in Cosmo Canyon, she wasn't aware that Red was technically around the same age as her. But if she had known, she would have decided that he didn't count. After all, it wasn't like he was _human_, and nobody treated him like a little kid.

It wasn't like it was really said, she guessed they probably all had more important things to think about (only making matters worse, as Yuffie was happy to go with the flow without thinking about what they were actually doing), but Yuffie noticed it in the atmosphere all of the time. They all dealt with it in their own way. Cloud, for example, had a tendency of glancing at her apologetically when they were about to do something dangerous, and looked like he was about to ask her whether she wanted to _go home_ or something; as if his honour was stretched to the breaking point having a sixteen year-old girl helping them find Sephiroth and all that.

Tifa, on the other hand, acted very protective over her, as if it were her duty to take care of the poor little princess like a good older sister figure. _Careful, you might get mud on your shoe,_ Yuffie thought savagely, imitating Tifa in a twistedly high voice. _Oh no, Yuffie, did you slip and hurt yourself? Would you like me to heal you for you? You must be so scared!_

She would never forget the look on Cloud's face when he realised she was just as good as him on the battle-field. Quicker, even. Nothing faster than a trusty Wutaiian shuriken, especially when in comparison to his rusty old broadsword. And she'd definitely saved Cait Sith's life on more than one occasion. What sort of a weapon was a megaphone, anyway? And he was absolutely rubbish at magic. But nope, nobody treated _him_ like a kid. Did... did he even age!? Yuffie didn't trust him, either - not that anyone would listen to her.

Fortunately they would reach Nibelheim in a few days or so, and they wouldn't have enough time to spare trying to take care of her. Until then, she'd just have to endure it. Waking up in the morning knowing she wouldn't have to clean any dishes had its merits, but it was also highly irritating for Aeris to make sure she never even got the chance to go near them, every single day, wearing that same 'don't worry, you should enjoy your childhood while it lasts!' kind of expression. What did she think would happen, she'd somehow cut herself and bleed to death? Get some soap in her eye?

So now she actually felt anxious wandering around their little camp, even though nobody else was asleep. Well, Red was kind of dozing, curled up, by the fire - but again, did he really count? He slept about thirteen hours a day anyway.

Barret had lumbered off to sit near him by the fire now, in that do-as-you-please manner that really grated on Yuffie's nerves. Well, fine! She WOULD do as she pleased! She muttered darkly to herself all the way to the other side of camp, flouncing off as dramatically as she could, sitting down a good distance from everybody. She could hear hear Caith Sith humming softly to himself as he sorted their materia out for the next day, and she could see Cloud wandering over to join Barret, stretching his arms behind his head and yawning. And she could hear Aeris and Tifa chatting in loud whispers, occasionally amidst giggles. Yuffie looked over at them grumpily, taking in their shadowy forms, lying on their stomachs in the short grass. Yuffie paused - they hadn't noticed her coming over, and they seemed to be gossiping or something. Although as the bit of a tomboy she was she shared little interests with them, she couldn't be bothered to move, so out of a tiny spark of interest she continued to sit there, head lolling back on her shoulders. Besides, if she moved Tifa'd probably get up and tell her she should be in bed like a good little girl.

"...not really that kind of guy, though...?"

"Surely at some point... maybe?" This was accompanied by one of Aeris' light giggles, that made even Yuffie's spine tingle. She wasn't sure why Cloud managed to keep himself from proclaiming his love to her. It was kind of obvious, the way he looked at her, that he was head over heels for her. And if Aeris' voice made _Yuffie_'s spine tingle, it probably made every single guy _ever_ tingle... Yuffie amused herself for a moment by imagining Barret handing her a bunch of flowers gruffly, letting out a laugh accidentally. Tifa and Aeris' hushed voices ceased instantly and Yuffie saw their heads turn in her direction out of the corner of her eye. Oops.

Upon seeing her, Aeris didn't look too bothered, she even smiled in a friendly sort of way. But Tifa hesitated a little.

"Whatcha talking about?" Yuffie asked casually, deciding to ignore Tifa's apprehensive expression.

"You know... just girly things," Aeris said, grinning apologetically. Ugh, did they think her so un-feminine that she had to act like it was some kind of... guilty pleasure? Although, Yuffie had never really had the opportunity to hear what they talked about anyway, or indeed, really have a girly conversation. There weren't many girls in the village, and the girls that _were_ there were kind of useless, so Yuffie had mainly hung out with the boys, scrambling in the mud and not feeling weird about swimming naked with them in the sea. Now that Yuffie thought back on things like these, she felt ashamed. Was she really the immature little rat they all seemed to think she was?

"What like?" Yuffie plowed on, deciding to at least act like she was really interested. Ha! Tifa even looked surprised at that. Aeris looked uncomfortable; she clearly hadn't banked on Yuffie actually enquiring further.

"Um..."

"She's only sixteen, you know," Tifa whispered, giggling nervously. Yuffie glared at her. _If you're going to whisper, at least do it QUIETLY_, she thought.

"So what?" she piped up, fuelled by her annoyance. She'd had enough of Tifa's mollycoddling. Hadn't she proved herself to be just as capable as any grown woman?

"Well, alright... I guess you have a point..." Tifa said slowly, still looking a little worried, as if they might get in trouble for it.

"We were just wondering whether Cloud has... you know... done IT."

"It?" Yuffie repeated, looking and feeling clueless. Were they speaking in code?

"I TOLD you. She doesn't even know what it _is_," Tifa said, rolling over onto her back, obviously bored by the way the conversation was going, stretching her legs restlessly.

"Oh, right. Sex." Yuffie said, finally realising. Sheesh, why was Tifa making such a big deal about it? Tifa, now facing her again, looked highly unnerved at her bluntness. Aeris had raised a hand to her mouth and had opened her mouth in a mixture of surprise and amusement. THIS was what 'girly things' meant? Yuffie thought they'd been talking about make-up or something. Then she remembered the name they had mentioned. "Ewww! _Cloud_? Why the heck were you wondering whether he's ever had sex or not?"

Now Aeris and Tifa relaxed. It was though Yuffie's maturity had completely knocked away their expectations, and had now fallen back down to its rightful place. Luckily Yuffie didn't notice their change in expression, too busy feeling grossed out by the subject. Eurgh. That idiot?

"It's a shame we don't have more guys travelling with us," Tifa said with a sigh. Yuffie had always suspected that Tifa liked Cloud, and here was the proof... although like she said, it was probably because the choices were remarkably limited. Yuffie supposed that Cloud... wasn't exactly bad-looking, but... it just seemed weird. "Then you two could have someone!"

"Yeah..." Aeris said, although she averted her eyes and spoke very quietly, as if she didn't really want to agree with her. Maybe Aeris had a thing for Cloud too! Poor suckers.

"You could always have Barret," Yuffie suggested, grinning, and was surprised when they both laughed loudly, their amusement seemingly enhanced by how they hadn't expected Yuffie to come out with anything funny. She smiled sheepishly, deciding to overlook their low expectations this once.

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot," Tifa suddenly said, her laughing dying away instantly in the face of suddenly remembering. "You don't like guys, isn't that right?" She looked slyly over at Aeris. Yuffie followed her gaze, eyes widening. Didn't like guys? But Aeris was so pretty! What a waste - didn't she want to meet someone?

"_Yes_," Aeris said in mock-annoyance, ruined by her usual dazzling smile. "Honestly, is that hard to forget?"

"Sorry!" Tifa said, looking as though she truly were, giggling slightly. "But I've never actually met a girl who doesn't like guys before. It's like... I didn't think they were real, y'know?"

"I know, I know-"

"You like _girls_?" Yuffie said, finally realising, her eyes wide with a mixture of scorn and confusion. Aeris and Tifa both looked at her dumb-foundedly. "I thought that was made up. I didn't know people could really be... really be..." Aeris looked uncomfortable, and a little hurt. Yuffie hated to see her that way, and knowing that her loud mouth had probably caused it, she felt guilty. "I mean... there's nothing _wrong_ with it..." Yuffie looked over to Tifa for help, and was surprised to see her looking extremely happy. Then Yuffie understood - she must have felt delighted when she discovered Aeris was gay; no competition any more, and she was free to seduce Cloud or whatever she wanted to do - now that the prettier, more interesting girl was... _unavailable_ for Cloud's affections in the end. Yuffie was suddenly overcome by a lack of respect for Tifa, even though she knew she could be quite nice sometimes, and even though it was only natural to feel envious of Aeris.

"Hey, I wonder if Cloud is gay?" she said forcefully, deliberatly aiming for the stunned look she was pleased to see cross Tifa's face. "I mean, it would explain a lot, wouldn't it? It's not like he's gone after either of you."

"That would be really funny," Aeris said, giggling. "I knew I felt a special connection to him, we're both..." she trailed off, noticing Tifa's expression - she was now looking positively close to tears. Realising her mistake, Aeris hurried to correct it. "But he probably isn't. Didn't he have a crush on you as a child, Tifa? He nearly gave it away back in Kalm, when he explained everything to us. Remember?"

Tifa nodded, her expression brightening a little, hope clearly still there. Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief. She supposed that had been a _little_ unkind of her...

"Girls, we're settlin' down now, you gonna go to bed?" Barret called over to them, knocking all of them from their quiet thoughts.

"Yeah, we will!" Aeris called back, the first to be called to her senses. Barret nodded and walked away, and Yuffie saw Red stirring slightly at the noise.

"That was fun," she said, as she got to her feet, yawning. She hadn't expected Tifa and Aeris' girly talks to be so... interesting. Tifa grinned, nodding, and Yuffie turned away before she could see the scornful look that they were probably passing to eachother now, padding away quietly to her sleeping bag.

For some reason, the discovery that Aeris _didn't like men_, so to put it, put a bounce in Yuffie's step. _I wonder why that is?_ she thought absent-mindedly, as she settled down to sleep. It sure was strange.


End file.
